Environmental Profile for the West Bank Volume 2: Jericho District
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Environmental Profile for The West Bank Volume 2: Jericho District Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem October 1995 Table of Contents •= Project Team •= Acknowledgment •= List of Tables •= List of Figures & Photographs •= List of Acronyms & Abbreviation •= List of Measuring units •= Introduction •= PART ONE: General Features of Jericho District o Chapter One: Topography and Climate o Chapter Two: Socio-economic Characteristics o Chapter Three: Geology, Land use and Soils o Chapter Four: Water Resources o Chapter Five: Agriculture •= PART TWO: Environmental Concerns in Jericho District o Chapter Six: Historical and Archeological Sites o Chapter Seven: Wastewater o Chapter Eight: Solid Waste o Chapter Nine: Pesticide Usage o Chapter Ten: Air and Noise Pollution •= References Project Team Dr. Jad Isaac Project Leader Violet N.Qumsieh Project Coordinator Contributors to this volume Bader Abu-Zahra M.Sc. in Sanitary Engineering. M.Sc. in International Agricultural Leonardo Hosh Development Maher Owewi M.Sc. in Remote Sensing Nader Hrimat M.Sc. in Plant Production Walid Sabbah M.Sc. in Hydrogeology Taghreed Al-Laham B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering. Nadia Al-Dajani B.Sc. in Biology Basema Takruri B.Sc. in Civil Engineering Abdul-Hakim Amer B.Sc.in Environmental Engineering. Osama Ayyash B.Sc. in Plant Protection Yousef Abu Asaad B.Sc. in Meteorological Engineering Mohammad Abu B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering Amrieh Issa Zboun GIS Technician Student at the Agricultural Engineering Dept. at Natasha Carmi the AUB Technical Support Team Abeer Istanbuli B.Sc. in Hospital Administration Faten Neiroukh B.Sc. in Plant Protection Safinaz Bader B.Sc. in Soil & Irrigation Sawsan Istanbuli Diploma in Laboratory Science Rafat Isaac Computer Specialist Jamil Shalaldeh GIS Technician Ibrahim Swaiti GIS Technician Fuad Isaac GIS Technician Stephen Gasteyer Editor HTML Editing Isam Ishaq M.Sc. in Communication Engineering Hanna Maoh B.Sc. in Physics Nissren Mansour Diploma in Secretary Acknowledgment The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) would like to thank the Federal Government of Austria, Department of Development Cooperation for their funding of this project through the Society for Austro-Arab Relations (SAAR). ARIJ also thanks the Palestinian officials at the municipalities, towns and village councils; the Untied Nations for Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA); owners and managers of industrial facilities; the officers of agricultural and weather stations for their assistance and cooperation with the project team members during the data collection phase of the project. List of Tables •= Table 1.1: Average climatic parameters from 1969- 1992 for the Jericho district •= Table 3.1: Land use classification in the Jericho district 9 •= Table 3.2: Soil classification in the Jericho district •= Table 4.1: Distribution of wells and springs and their annual discharge(1992) from different groundwater basins and aquifers •= Table 4.2: Statistical analysis of hydrochemical data at the major springs in the Jericho district •= Table 4.3: Statistical analysis of hydrochemical data at the groundwater wells in the Jericho district •= Table 4.4: Development of Johnston Plan in 1953- 1955 •= Table 5.1: Distribution of agricultural areas in the Jericho district •= Table 5.2: Estimated water requirement (evapotranspiration) according to pan evaporation method for different cultivated crops and cropping patterns in the Jericho district •= Table 5.3: Total number & types of livestock in the Jericho district in 1994 •= Table 8.1: Solid waste management in the Jericho district •= Table 10.1: Types and numbers of transportation vehicles in the Jericho district •= Table 10.2: Transportation air emission inventories List of Figures Maps demonstrated in this publication were produced by the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Unit at the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem. •= Figure 1 Location of the Jericho district •= Figure 2 Autonomous & Built up areas at Jericho district •= Figure 1.1 Digital Elevation Model (DEM) •= Figure 1.2 Contour map for the Jericho district based on DEM •= Figure 1.3 Digitized contour map for the Jericho district •= Figure 1.4 Water resources map in the Jericho district •= Figure 1.5 Monthly variation in radiation for the year 1994/95 •= Figure 1.6 Annual rainfall in mm for 1969-1992 •= Figure 1.7 Monthly rainfall and evaporation in the Jericho district for 1969-1992 •= Figure 3.1 Geological map of the Jericho district •= Figure 3.2 Land use map of the Jericho district •= Figure 3.3 Soil type map in the Jericho district •= Figure 4.1 Groundwater basins and the exposed aquifers in the West Bank. •= Figure 4.2 Discharge variation of Wadi Al-Qilt Spring System with rainfall during the period of 1982/83 until 1993/94 •= Figure 4.3 Discharge variation of Ein Al-Sultan Spring with rainfall during the period of 1982/83 until 1993/94 •= Figure 4.4 Dischrge variation of Dyouk Spring System with rainfall during the period of 1982/83 until 1993/94 •= Figure 4.5 Discharge variation of Al-Auja Spring System with rainfall during the period of 1982/83 until 1993/94 •= Figure 4.6 a Wilcox diagrams of springs in the Jericho district •= Figure 4.6 b Wilcox diagrams of wells in the Jericho district •= Figure 4.7 Electrical Conductivity (EC) distribution in the groundwater at the Jericho district •= Figure 4.8 Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) distribution in the groundwater at the Jericho district •= Figure 4.9 Nitrates distribution in groundwater at the Jericho district •= Figure 4.10 Headdwaters of the Jordan River •= Figure 5.1 Average distribution of rainfall and temperatures for (1983-1992) •= Figure 5.2 Total cultivated area and production of different cropping patterns in the Jericho district for the 1993/94 growing season •= Figure 5.3 Total area and production of vegetable crops under different cropping systems in the Jericho district for the 1993/94 growing season •= Figure 5.4 Total area and production of field crops and forages in the Jericho district for the 1993/94 growing season •= Figure 5.5 Total area and production of different fruit trees in the Jericho district for the 1993/94 growing season •= Figure 5.6 Total area and production of citrus trees in the Jericho district for the 1993/94 growing season. •= Figure 5.7 Total number and rate of pond construction in the years 1970-1994 •= Figure 9.1 Treated area (100 hectares) and amount of pesticide used in the Jericho district for the 1993/94 growing season. List of Photographs •= Photo Hisham's Palace (Cover page) •= Photo 1 Aerial photo of Jericho city and the surrounded Refugee Camps •= Photo 2 Al-Auja Spring. •= Photo 3 Cultivation using low plastic tunnels in the Jericho district •= Photo 4 Irrigation pond at the Jericho Agricultural Station •= Photo 5 Deir Quruntul (Monastery of the Temptation or of the days) •= Photo 6 Solid waste dumping site at the Jericho city •= Photo 7 Plastic waste dumped at the farm side in Jericho city •= Photo 8 Misuse of pesticides •= Photo 9 Air pollution resulted from burning solid waste List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ADS Arab Development Society ARIJ Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem CMR Child Mortality Rate DEM Digital Elevation Model EC Electrical conductivity GDP Gross Domestic Product GIS Geographic Information System GNP Gross National Product IMR Infant Mortality Rate JAMC Jericho Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Mekorot The National Water Company of Israel NGO Non-Governmental Organization PARC Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees PBS Palestinian Bureau of Statistics PCH Palestinian Council of Health Palestinian Economic Council for Development and PECDAR Reconstruction PNA Palestinian National Authority R.C. Refugee Camp R.H. Relative Humidity SAR Sodium Adsorption Ratio SAAR Society for Austro-Arab Relations UNRWA United Nations Relief and Work Agency WBWD West Bank Water Department W. speed Wind speed Measuring Units oC degrees centigrade CM cubic meter m meter km kilometer km2 square kilometer MCM Million Cubic Meters ppm parts per million Dunum 0.1 hectare Watt/m2 Watt per Square meter Introduction With the high level of uncertainty about the environmental situation in Palestine following 28 years of occupation, environmental profiles are greatly important for assessing the status of the environment and as the background for a program to promote sustainable development. The Applied Research Institute launched a two year project in July 1994 to produce a series of environmental profiles for each district in the West Bank. The project is supported and financed by the Federal Government of Austria, Department for Development Cooperation, through the Society for Austro-Arab Relations in Jerusalem (SAAR). This volume is the second in the series. It describes the status of the environment in the Jericho District. The first volume was on the Status of the environment in the Bethlehem district which was published in June 1995. The data presented in this volume have been collected by the ARIJ research team through field investigations using surveys and meetings with officials from municipalities, village councils, the United Nations for Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA), the agricultural institutions and the Jericho Weather Station. Also included is a review and analysis of previous publications . Our aim here is to present an inventory of resources and describe the scope and extent of the environmental problems facing the district. Information concerning topography, climate, soil, land use, water resources, agriculture, wastewater and solid waste collection and disposal, pesticide usage and air and noise pollution is presented in this profile. In addition, it covers the socio-economic situation in the Jericho district and the existing historical and archeological sites existing in the district and their current status and state of repair. All maps included in this volume are produced by the GIS unit at ARIJ using ARC/Info and PAMAP software. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Jericho district is located on the eastern boundary of the West Bank. For pure technical reasons, ARIJ defined the Jericho district boundaries according to the pre-1967 Jordanian and the current Israeli designation.